Term: Casual, two sessions per week, mornings (you choose) 9.30am-12.30pm with a trial period of one term

Salary: $145 per session

Position reports to: Chief Creative Director (Principal)

The Farm School is a democratic and creative education program for children aged 1-6 years. Farm Schoolers come up with ideas for activities that usually merge ecology and creativity.

Farm School is a parent-stay program. It operates on a rural property in Cockatoo alongside other programs, and is home to several animals, large paddocks, an orchard, a dam and conservation zones amongst other facilities.

Our new early childhood educator can choose which mornings per week Farm School will be offered. Farm School will have two sessions from 9.30am-12.30pm during each term.

Developed by the School of Creative Education, Farm School provides an educator with the unique opportunity to work collaboratively with our other programs including The Tribe for home-schooled children, and the Maxwell Creative primary School, while being independent and entrepreneurial with their own program.

facilitates learning through the creative process rather than the academic process

facilitates child-lead inquiry-based learning that includes projects and collaboration

is democratic … all participants govern and shape the culture and regulations of the program

provides multi-age and community-based learning

facilitates animal, agricultural and conservation experiences through a social and ecological lens.

Farm School Educator

It is the role of the educator to facilitate and evaluate student learning through the creative process.

The educator is to:

be primarily responsible for the children in the Farm School

educate according to the educational needs, abilities, interests and achievements of the children

help children and parents design, implement and evaluate projects

enable children to access resources needed to fulfil projects

develop, teach and evaluate a curriculum plan for each semester based upon childrens’ interests, passions, and inquiries

assess, record and report on childrens’ development

establish and implement the Farm School annual budget

collaborate with the Maxwell Creative School and The Tribe on whole school project design and development

establish and fulfil enrolment promotional strategies and programs with the board and committee

post articles of interest, community activities of interest and collages of children in program who are authorised to share images on our Facebook page and in the Farm School Facebook group

help maintain relevant facilities and resources to support the program

report to the board

participate in staff meetings and whole school democratic meetings where possible

participate in appropriate professional development opportunities with an expectation of participation in SoCE’s own PD programs

participate in an annual performance review and collaboratively participating in supervision

implement the Child-Safe Policy and Student Welfare Policy of the Maxwell Creative School and incorporate into relationships the appreciation and value of diversity including community members’ background, religion, and learning needs

observe and support the ethos, policies and procedures of the School of Creative Education, and

participate as a member of our whole school community.

As ‘teacherprenuers’, educators have the opportunity to undertake their own self-directed, creative practices in shared studio with the other educators across the school.

Selection Criteria

preferably a minimum two years’ experience in an environmental educational setting and / or an inquiry-based, project-based setting

qualifications or progression towards qualifications that meet the requirements of an early-childhood educator or a primary teacher

a Working with Children Check

demonstrated ability to design learning spaces and programs which are creative

commitment to child-directed and democratic education

capacity to contribute to curriculum, pedagogy and policy development

demonstrated high-level written and verbal communication skills and interpersonal skills including the capacity to develop and maintain collaborative and co-creative relationships

demonstrated ability and experience in providing relevant educational experiences to young people with multiple and complex needs, such as autism, anxiety and sensory processing disorders

understanding and commitment to the objectives, values and vision of the School of Creative Education

Other information

commits to the employment of high quality, qualified and experienced employees

ensures new employees are inducted well

ensures employees receive support in their professional development

records and seeks to resolve inappropriate conduct and unsatisfactory performance of all employees including volunteers

The school is committed to following fair and just recruitment standards in the selection of employees, volunteers, contractors and consultants, however our primary consideration is the safety and wellbeing of children. The school has developed recruitment and selection guidelines that outline the processes the school will follow in its recruitment of employee.

The school ensures that recruitment processes are in place to manage and reduce the risk of child abuse. In addition, processes are in place to ensure there are appropriate employee induction programs, employee professional development, and employee supervision arrangements to ensure a child safe environment.

Working with children Check and Police Record Check prior to commencement, and

ongoing training and professional development.

Promotion of child safety in recruitment advertisements

The school recruitment advertisements state the school is committed to child safety. The statement is included in all advertisements, position descriptions and employment contracts. This employment page on our website outlines the school’s commitment to Child Safe recruitment standards.

Position descriptions

Each employee position within the school will have a detailed job description clearly defining the role and responsibilities of the position including the school’s expectation that employee must provide a child safe environment. Position descriptions outline:

the organisational context

duties and tasks of the role

qualifications, experience and attributes a person must have, and

the level of responsibility and supervision associated with the position

Assessment of potential employees

Employees will only be employed if they meet the criteria specified in the relevant job description. Educators will be only considered for employment for the primary school and employed if they have current and full registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching.

The school conducts face to face interviews with applicants, where possible, to ensure their suitability to work within the school.

In the recruitment of new employees (and volunteers), the school assesses the following in relation to individual applicants:

The school recognises that screening potential employees and volunteers is essential and reference checks must occur for all potential employees, prior to an offer of employment being made.

All teaching staff employed at the primary school must be registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching.

All other employees including contractors, consultants and volunteers must provide evidence of a Working with children Check and Police Record Check prior to commencement. Refer to the Working with Children Check Policy.

Working with Children Checks

Anyone who intends to do child-related work, and who does not qualify for an exemption, needs a Working with Children Check.

Some exemptions are:

a person who is under the age of 18 years

a parent volunteering in an activity in which their child participates

teachers registered with the VIT

To keep the children at the primary school safe, the school must know:

that everyone with direct and unsupervised contact with the children has a Working with Children Check

if applicants are legally permitted to work while their application is processed

when Working with Children Checks expire and needs renewal

if an employee, contractor, consultant or volunteer

has their Working with Children Check card suspended

is issued with an Interim Negative Notice

fails the Working with children Check and is issued with a Negative Notice.

Police Checks

The school acknowledges that police checks differ from Working with Children Checks. The requires all employees undertake a Police Record Check prior to the commencement of employment and the school also reserves the right to request any member of employee to obtain a Police Record Check at any point in time, as per the terms and condition specified in the employee’s contract of employment.

Privacy

This information will be treated with respect for the privacy of all individuals. This information is restricted to the access of the recruitment panel for the position being recruited. Information will be stored in a confidential and secure manner at all times.

Employee induction program

All employees and volunteers must complete the School’s Induction Program (refer to the Employee Induction Policy) upon their commencement.

This involves the completion of the Induction Checklist that covers the School’s:

facilities

equipment

environment

policies & procedures including the Child Safety Policy, Code of Conduct and Mandatory Reporting, and

Each new employee will be assigned a mentor for an agreed period, to assist him or her in settling into the school’s culture and expectations.

Regular employee meetings will be held to identify any professional development needs, and will inform the school’s professional development plan.

Each employee’s performance will be reviewed at least once per year as part of the Profession Development Review (below), to identify any potential areas for improvement. The outcomes will be documented and will inform the individual’s professional development needs.

Professional development review

The Professional Development Review aims to enhance the performance of all employees of the school, other than casual employees, contractors and consultants, through participation in annual performance reviews, conducted by the Chief Creative Director, including feedback from senior employees and mentors.

The school will provide ongoing training to employees to ensure they understand their obligations and expectations to ensure a Child Safe environment. All new employees will undertake training to ensure they understand their expectations. Refer to the Child Safety Policy.

Central to the PDR is an expectation that employees will reflect on the functional areas in which they have responsibilities. These may include one or more of the following: